The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 28, moved one step closer to approving an ordinance that would set a 4% to 6% cap on how much rent can be raised by owners of rent-stabilized housing units, starting in February.
The proposed rent increase cap on housing that falls under the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) is intended as a compromise to permit landlords to raise rent for the first time in nearly four years – since the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic – while limiting the amount of the increase in hopes of preventing more tenants from falling into homelessness.
L.A.’s current rent hike freeze on RSO units – rental housing built before 1978 – was enacted during the pandemic to provide relief to renters, but the freeze will expire at the end of January. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez tried to extend the freeze, but could not get enough support from fellow councilmembers.
During a lengthy discussion two weeks ago, the council opted to move forward with a compromise proposed by Councilmember Bob Blumenfield that lets landlords raise rent on RSO units for the first time since March 2020, but caps the increase to 4% – or up to 6% if gas and electricity are included in the rent. The new approach would be in place through June 30, 2024.
Normally, the yearly rental increase on rent-controlled units in L.A. is tied to the consumer price index. If not for Blumenfield’s compromise proposal or an extension of the rent hike freeze, tenants would be looking at a possible 7% to 9% increase to their rent starting in February.
Both tenants and landlords are “not happy” with the proposal, Blumenfield said earlier this month, adding that it shows that the “compromise probably makes sense because both sides hate it.”
Roughly 75% of all multi-family rental units in L.A., or about 656,000 units, are rent controlled, according to the city’s housing department. On Tuesday, a spokesperson said the department did not have a…
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